From chicken to river turtle, Au Lac House has it all

If it roams Viet Nam, it’ll probably be on the menu at Au Lac House, an upscale restaurant on Tran Hung Dao Street in the centre of Ha Noi. Featuring a dizzying array of entrees, from the mundane (pork) to the exotic (river tortoise in red wine sauce), Au Lac House will likely have something for everyone.

But be warned – you better have a healthy stack of dong in your wallet. The entrees start at VND59,000 for more low-key fare like chicken, beef and pork, stretch into the VND250,000-400,000 range for salmon, garoupa and carp and plateau at VND650,000 for the tortoise. With a wide range of wines, cocktails and desserts, the bill could creep towards VND1 million for a couple looking to sample true Vietnamese delicacies.

That having been said, it is possible to have a good meal for under VND175,000, a reasonable price given the plush surroundings of Au Lac House. From my cosy second floor table (the restaurant also has a terrace overlooking Tran Hung Dao), I started with spring rolls (VND39,000).

Wrapped in tissue-thin pastry, the all-veggie rolls arrived piping hot in under seven minutes. A light dipping sauce was the perfect complement to the rolls, which were among the best I have had in Ha Noi. A disclaimer: this is only my third week in the capital).

But before I was halfway through the appetiser, my main course of sweet and sour fried chicken (VND59,000) arrived. The restaurant gets top marks for speed, but that’s not always the hallmark of a good eatery. The spring rolls were slow going because I had to wait for them to cool. So, the sweet and sour chicken sat on the table, its heat dissipating into the smartly-decorated eating area.

Spring rolls polished off, I dove into the chicken, which had cooled but was still warm. The sweet and sour sauce was excellent, the pineapples fresh and the peppers half-cooked to perfection. A floral-shaped tomato added a nice touch to the plate, which contained a healthy portion of the entree.

But the chicken had not been skinned, giving the meal an unnecessarily fatty taste. Even worse, two pieces were actually more bone than meat, mandating the not so subtle napkin-to-mouth routine.

The chicken, though, was well-cooked and tasty. A shame it was playing hard to get.

To wash down the chicken, I ordered a glass of mango juice (VND22,000). It was a little warm, some ice would have been nice, but nonetheless quick-sand thick and a near-perfect way to cleanse the palette for dessert, which tonight was fried banana in caramel sauce (VND29,000).

It is a strange thing to deep fry a fruit. There needs to be a delicate balance between heart-clogging and healthy. And while my aorta likely balked at the batter, the taste of the banana remained. The caramel sauce was an excellent touch. The only problem: there was only one banana and I was left craving more. Much more.

Overall, the meal was a good one. The service was shockingly fast and the staff were friendly. One waiter, watching me struggle to corral onions with chopsticks, subtly passed me a much-needed fork. Aside from a few kinks – an ill-timed entree and two missed bones – it was a pleasant dining experience. But those snafus can’t be totally overlooked like they would in a cheaper restaurant. With meal prices reaching into the gastronomic stratosphere, one would expect better from Au Lac House.

The restaurant’s atmosphere is one of it’s drawing points. With large, colonial pillars and a wide open cocktail area, it is inviting. A cool breeze blew in from the terrace the night I was there and the dinning room was bathed in soft, yellow light. The lower level was festooned with Christmas ornaments, giving Au Lac House a friendly feel. The wonderful surroundings, good service and solid food make the restaurant a good place for a holiday meal.

Source VNS